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Hey everybody!It's time for part two of my RPG-characters: Kohra. After poisoning the water of Po-Koro and drowning part of the great mine, she's just beginning to warm up.http://fc00.devianta...ain-d4vtahq.jpgNOTE: Deep-linked for your convenience.About:Photoshop CS4Wacom Cintiq~30hrs spent colouring, spread over 4 days.As usual, I hope you like it, C&C are welcome and stay tuned for more art in the future!+Cheers!-VF

Seriously impressive, that's the best way for me to describe it. I'm enthralled by just how natural the hair and the limbs look, as well as just how sturdy the armour looks. I'm guessing it was inspired my Mass Effect?But yeah, this is great and I applaud you, sir.

This makes me feel like even more of a terrible artist...but I bet I'm the better musician. :PAnd where's Sisk? I wanna see Sisk.Throw Lashev in the Sisk drawing too, if you feel like it. I think that'd be rather cool. x3

This makes me feel like even more of a terrible artist...but I bet I'm the better musician. :PAnd where's Sisk? I wanna see Sisk.Throw Lashev in the Sisk drawing too, if you feel like it. I think that'd be rather cool. x3

Hehe, glad you like it, Kal! sisk and Rhow are both sketched. And who knows what other chars I might work on in the future.As for musicianship: I'm playing trumpet for almost 14 years now and drums as an aside-hobby. If you can beat that...

Very impressive work as always; the coloring and lighting is excellent, as is the texture of the arm/feathers - the armor could maybe use a little more texture to the blue portions, but that's just a suggestion and more of a stylistic choice anyways.

This makes me feel like even more of a terrible artist...but I bet I'm the better musician. :PAnd where's Sisk? I wanna see Sisk.Throw Lashev in the Sisk drawing too, if you feel like it. I think that'd be rather cool. x3

Hehe, glad you like it, Kal! sisk and Rhow are both sketched. And who knows what other chars I might work on in the future.As for musicianship: I'm playing trumpet for almost 14 years now and drums as an aside-hobby. If you can beat that...

Karzahni. I don't get to see what you think Lashev looks like. x3...I've been playing Bass for almost five, and I can also play a bit on the other instruments in the Violin family, along with working a bit on Guitar, Mandolin, and I'm better at Bass Guitar (fretless) than either of those (guitar/Mandolin).And I want to learn bass clarinet.

I must say everytime I see your drawings, I become more and more impressed. My only small nitpick is that Kohra and background seem very distinct, and while this may intentional in my mind it seems unrealistic. Almost as though you stuck Kohra in front of a green screen. Being horrible at drawing myself, I'm bit sure how to fix this but perhaps adding some scenery to the foreground would help.

This makes me feel like even more of a terrible artist...but I bet I'm the better musician. :PAnd where's Sisk? I wanna see Sisk.Throw Lashev in the Sisk drawing too, if you feel like it. I think that'd be rather cool. x3

I suggested on his blog that he draw Sisk with the rest of the Elite Rahkshi Hunting Squadron, including the birds. It would, IMO, make for a very interesting and dynamic picture. Especially if he highlights the interactions between the characters in the piece.

This is so insanely impressive it isn't funny. The shading and coloring is impeccable, and the general shaping is in itself impressive. You've got an eye for subtlety and detail as well it seems. The fact that you toiled away at it for so long impresses me. 30 hours? *Dies* I wish I had that sort of initiative. Especially when it comes to art.Amazing work here sir, and I hope to see more from you in the future. (Do you take requests? :3)Off Topic:

And I want to learn bass clarinet.

A tip of the hat to you KG. I play the bass clarinet. Easily one of the most beautiful and underrated instruments out there. Learn it. You'll love it. I play it in a marching band which really, isn't the best place for it seeing as it doesn't project at all. But whatever, it's still my favorite instrument.I compose pieces designed to be played by full orchestras. Do I win anything? -Snipe

I think that I will actually spread my critique over several comments, just so I can have your interaction between each of my points.Well, my first thought is actually that it's a bit simple for you. Normally you have a scene, something going on. I'm also a little disheartened that the background is so vague and feels like a emplate setting. owever, that said, this gives a brilliant impression of your character that sets her apart from what you typically imagine as a Vortixx. It helps me imagine her personality as being real, and I also love the touch of the feathers on the shoulders, since I'm trying to accomplish something similar with a non-bionicle character of mine, except for with fern-line plant growth (it came off to others as feathers, though, as with here).My first question is about the time it took to draw this. 30 hours on coloring is impressive, but I'm wondering how long the conteur outlines took.(On a side note, I have a semester drawing coming up that has to take at least 20 hours and should be based upon observation. I intend to do a modified self-portrait inpired by a character in my own writings, and I have a sheet of paper five feet tall to work with. Given what I see here and my past experiences, it will probably take more than twice the required time. I'm aiming for 53 hours.)Your Honor,Tyrannosaurus Kraggh

Hey guys, thanks for all the comments! It's really nice to see my artwork appreciated!

Seriously impressive, that's the best way for me to describe it. I'm enthralled by just how natural the hair and the limbs look, as well as just how sturdy the armour looks. I'm guessing it was inspired my Mass Effect?But yeah, this is great and I applaud you, sir.

While I am a big fan of Mass Effect, that was not the inspiration for the design of her armor. I've continually tried, retried and adapted a certain style for my characters, that I intended to allow for more human aspects but at the same time retained the typical Bionicle-look.Glad you like it!

Very impressive work as always; the coloring and lighting is excellent, as is the texture of the arm/feathers - the armor could maybe use a little more texture to the blue portions, but that's just a suggestion and more of a stylistic choice anyways.

Thanks! Indeed, the armor could use a few scratches, but once I was done with the clean shading, I like it so much I decided not to add more.

I must say everytime I see your drawings, I become more and more impressed. My only small nitpick is that Kohra and background seem very distinct, and while this may intentional in my mind it seems unrealistic. Almost as though you stuck Kohra in front of a green screen. Being horrible at drawing myself, I'm bit sure how to fix this but perhaps adding some scenery to the foreground would help.

This makes me feel like even more of a terrible artist...but I bet I'm the better musician. :PAnd where's Sisk? I wanna see Sisk.Throw Lashev in the Sisk drawing too, if you feel like it. I think that'd be rather cool. x3

I suggested on his blog that he draw Sisk with the rest of the Elite Rahkshi Hunting Squadron, including the birds. It would, IMO, make for a very interesting and dynamic picture. Especially if he highlights the interactions between the characters in the piece.

Kohra and the background are supposed to be destinct. It's supposed to be a contrast to her darker appearance. It also helps to show what she is: A dark presence in an otherwise brighter surrounding.My first instinct when starting the colouring was to make the background pitch-black, with an ominous purple glow behind her, to really bring out the evil, but once I had the base-colours down, that would have been a very dark image and not very exciting.As for drawing Lashev etc. It is tempting, but it's a bit unlikely, considering how long such a larger interaction-piece would take. Maybe when the mood strikes me. For now, wait for Sisk and Rhow.

This is so insanely impressive it isn't funny. The shading and coloring is impeccable, and the general shaping is in itself impressive. You've got an eye for subtlety and detail as well it seems. The fact that you toiled away at it for so long impresses me. 30 hours? *Dies* I wish I had that sort of initiative. Especially when it comes to art.Amazing work here sir, and I hope to see more from you in the future. (Do you take requests? :3)Off Topic:

And I want to learn bass clarinet.

A tip of the hat to you KG. I play the bass clarinet. Easily one of the most beautiful and underrated instruments out there. Learn it. You'll love it. I play it in a marching band which really, isn't the best place for it seeing as it doesn't project at all. But whatever, it's still my favorite instrument.I compose pieces designed to be played by full orchestras. Do I win anything? -Snipe

Hey, glad you like it! Admittedly, the 30 hours were spread over 4 days, but a year ago this would have taken me months to finish. Initiative is really one of the key-aspects. Especially for digital art. I am trying to work myself to a point, where I can spend 10 hours or more each day working on my things.As for requests, no, I don't take them officially. I do oocasional free work, but it's not standard. I'm trying to make a living with my art like this and that pocketmoney doesn't earn itself ^^So, requests, no. Comissions, yes.PS: You certainly do win for writing scores! I'm just brass playing what's on the sheet, or improvising on occasion ^^

Very impressive.She reminds me somewhat of Rodaka, is that possibly what you were going for?

I was going for the Vortixx femme-fatale look. Roodaka has that too, but I actually tried to move away from her design, since it's so well-known. Hence the spiky hair, less exagerated body and skinnier appearace.

I logged in to comment on this... When I opened the link I expected a mediocre piece of art. but this is plain amazing! Personally, I like there to be more robot parts than flesh, but I wont complain.

I may try to add a bit more robot-parts in future Bionicle-artworks. For Kohra, being sleek was one of the things that are chracteristic for her look, so I couldn't add too much. Also, with her arm twisted and changed like that, much of the mechanical parts have become covered under that black tissue. If I had drawn the arm as it would appear normally, there'd be some more technical-parts.Glad you like it!

I think that I will actually spread my critique over several comments, just so I can have your interaction between each of my points.Well, my first thought is actually that it's a bit simple for you. Normally you have a scene, something going on. I'm also a little disheartened that the background is so vague and feels like a emplate setting. owever, that said, this gives a brilliant impression of your character that sets her apart from what you typically imagine as a Vortixx. It helps me imagine her personality as being real, and I also love the touch of the feathers on the shoulders, since I'm trying to accomplish something similar with a non-bionicle character of mine, except for with fern-line plant growth (it came off to others as feathers, though, as with here).My first question is about the time it took to draw this. 30 hours on coloring is impressive, but I'm wondering how long the conteur outlines took.(On a side note, I have a semester drawing coming up that has to take at least 20 hours and should be based upon observation. I intend to do a modified self-portrait inpired by a character in my own writings, and I have a sheet of paper five feet tall to work with. Given what I see here and my past experiences, it will probably take more than twice the required time. I'm aiming for 53 hours.)Your Honor,Tyrannosaurus Kraggh

Well, you gave the reasons for painting the background the way I did alread in your post: It shows off the character. The whole purpose is to profile the characters, show off a bit of their personality in their poses and expressions, while focusing mostly on them and not the background. Hence the rough trees in Agni's picture, and the contrasting jungle here. I did actually paint a rough impression of the jungle-setting as the background first, then blurred it and added rays of light and a few floating things, the result of which you can see here.The other reason the background is painted that way is to give it a photograph-like look, with a large aperture and fast shutter-speed, with only the character in focus. If you look at such photographs, the focus-range is rather narrow, so most things in front and behind the character are just blobs of colour and very blurry.On top of that, it allowed me to really play with the light. I like doing these sunrays falling through foliage and that gradient from dark to lighter the further up you go. Dark blue and green go very well together, but the value of the colour is what is important here. I wanted to guide the focus of the viewer to Kohra. So you have the bright jungle in the background and then this very dark area right in the middle that attracts attention.I'm glad you like the feathers. I've had a previous artwork where I had to do the feathers on the shafts of an arrow- Having never painted feathers in a realistic manner before, that was quite the trial and error experience.As for the sketch, I honestly don't remember how long I spent on that. Since it is from sometime last year. But it did not take insanely long. If I remember correctly it was done within two days, so maybe 5 hours, tops.Sounds like an interesting semester-drawing!-VF

Kohra is even more beautiful than my imagination made her... I am soo in envy of your drawing skills... The hand of feathers is fantastic, and that glowing purple eye just makes me shiver. Having "played" with Kohra through two incarnations and with two different characters, I'm just so impressed and so emotionally attached to this picture.Will you be doing submissions eventually?

Wait a minute, art like this can make its way to the front page? That's it, I'm totally ading BZRPG portrait art to my drawing queue.By the way, I was actually saying that the background fit her because I think the green looks evil, not bright. You know, like visorak webs. When I think of green I generally think of poison and sickness and the like. Basically, antagonizing things. Did you sketch in the background, by the way, or was it completely digital? And on another note, how big of a sheet of paper were you working with?The eye, I forgot to mention, is quite compelling. I've stated before that I don't like organic eyes on Bionicle before (I mean, I've become real used to the glowing crystal eyes behind masks and all that), but I suppose it makesa difference that she's a Vortixx and given the overall impression you were going for here was already so well done that it made this fit in just fine.Your Honor,Tyrannosaurus Kraggh

Fantastic! I like green, so it's double the pleasure for the eyes to me! Very well drawn adn, wow, 30 hours just for coloring! Really well done, bro!----- Lord of the Rings -----Titles: Dark Lord, Lord of Mordor, Lord of Gifts, Lord of Barad-Dûr, Lord of the Earth

I didn't want to do this here, but since I've forgotten my DA password (which appears to be a habit of mine, after five or so times) I shall, I suppose.I wont write a super long review, because I'm tired and I need to sleep, so you can just supply your own fillers I guess. I just kept writing and couldn't stopAfter analyzing this piece quite some time you get four categories.Things I personally don't like:- The pose could have been better, mostly to reveal her right arm and to prevent awkward balancing. It helps a bit with the dynamics of the picture, but realistically she will fall on her bum in a few seconds (unless there's some feature to her legs not evident in the picture). I suppose if the hand was weighed so heavily it could possibly counter-balance her posture, but then it would be a feat of fantasy just for her to hold it up with the complete lack of muscle or even framing of the arm.- The fascination with her own arm is kind of confusing me, since I don't know your character's story at all. She seems to be enamored with it, like it has just mutated, or it is a weird phenomena with her hand. Did she just sprout feathers? Because then the asymmetry on her breastplate goes against reason. But in the event it's caused by an action (like "oh no, a Matoran was killed in the Charred Forest by my hand") I can totally retract my statements.- Background is all on one plane. I understand you wanted a sharp contrast for focal matter and I assume to help accent a distant-type-character, but the blurring is all completely uniform which makes it look like it's just a flat painting (pun) but I didn't want to say it was actually wrong, because if it really is that extreme then some amount of comprehensive blur could take place [hypothetically]. I think there would still be some local blurring that wasn't as strong, but no examples come to mind.- No scratches or signs of wear. I understand if she's just out of the factory/armory/womb, but most metal breaks down in time, even if it's just at the edges and pieces in contact. It just seems too pristine to be natural.Things kind of actually wrong:- The lack of specular highlighting. We always seem to fall in the rut of matte finishes on metal, and if that's what you were going for then it's great, but with all the different textures like on her arm and feathers, I think light reflections would bleed into the category of texture here. The actual surfaces themselves beg for more splotches of light if their edges are picking up that much on two sides.- The green cast light is inconsistent, but not very noticeable. In places like the top of her head it's fine, and it's shining through and on the edges of the feathers just nicely, but it's kind of missed out on the metal. You pulled a fast stop and the gradient fades too quickly, so either she's standing far in front of a foresty backdrop or green light is being shone at her from a directional beam. If you want better synthesis with subject/background relationships the light needs to encompass more space. I think the white panels would be less opaque white and have a higher green tint, since it's a bright material, and the blue would have more green tones throughout. Also, the more reflective the material, the more light it will reflect, duh, but it means the metal suit, neck piston & cord, and claws will throw back (show) more green in this instance than the under-weave or arm. (Feathers are a little different since they are thin enough to be slightly transparent and not always sheer.)She basically just is operating under cool colors while the background is warm, it doesn't just separate her, it alienates her from the picture somewhat. - Some of the armor shaping is inconsistent and not symmetrical. I don't mind this so much as I know the painting process you use is quite organic, but some shapes are a little more obvious than others, either too round compared to their twin or not centered on the body. It was a difficult position with the varied legs turned and the body already in 3/4ths.- A few armor bits are off proportionally. This can slide however as it's only on 3 edges and so minuscule in their deviations.- Unless huge cotton balls (or marshmallows) are floating around in the forest, dust particles won't get that big in a photograph. I suppose they'd make sense as pollen since they show up equally bright in the light (where dust particles would only be largely visible) so that can slide.Things technically sound:- Those feathers. While maybe the mid-range would have more tones, and some of the individual lines (hairs, fibers, wires, dunno) could have snippets of highlighting, this way is uniform and done well. The green coming through the edges as well as the glow on the ends is spot on. Also the single feather sticking out of the chest seam was perfect to fit a motif in, tying it in with the wrist ones as well.- The textures on the arm are a wonder to look at. The silvering veins in the porous gray are great. I tried identifying the brush, but I couldn't tell if you used one from PS or downloaded one. I'm not too familiar with cs4.- Your edge highlighting for the most part all makes sense. There are some places in which it wouldn't really shine as much as you made it, but you'd have to be a freak to care and also considering this is pure fantasy you get huge leeway. I mean, I never exercise any restraint with highlights, so I don't know why I expect you to. (insert eye-roll) But 95% of it just works. It helps pop out some of the armor sections where it has the same values and gives amazing dimension on that breastplate.- The inner weave pattern follows her body's contours perfectly, this seems familiar... almost like I've seen a game with armor like this... The size differences were genius, with the upper thigh area having smaller stitching and the abdominal section with a different variation.Things I love: Most of the things about this that are great are the parts that are done well, so I covered some of them already.- But I did want to drop in and say your armor sculpting skills are beautiful to behold. That chest piece cut at an angle is the best here, but also the waist section and the collar construction.- The ventilation under her pits also draw my eye (pattern/texture repetition helps loads) and I love it.- The little screws in strategic places are wonderful. They aren't obtrusive in the slightest, and while keeping the suit/armor streamlined and less constructed as it is livable, maintain the realism. Props for that. I love screws.- Those chrome bits. Man. I love shiny metal. I think it's actually an obsession, so you'll have to pardon me if get a bit distracted here. More! More chrome! Your shading, especially on the neck chord is a beauty.- Your presentation is good, I love the suggestions of a photo, with the cropped edge and the faint scanner line on the right. It's so minimal that it's almost subliminal.The anticipation for the next one is destroying me, but I'll spend a good deal more time eating this up slower when I don't have to think of things to say. That said, did I ever say how much I love your Skyrim piece?So sorry for all the negative stuff, but you should know by now that it is vastly outweighed by the positives. I nitpick because you're good enough that you improve every time and I love it when you do. How come it is only you who can procure such abnormally long and sickly lengthy posts from me? Should I get more frequent and just dole out as much commentary as I can for everyone who posts a picture ever so this doesn't feel so personal every time I attackpost~ Much love and one of these http://www.bzpower.c...tyle_emoticons/default/alien2.gif because I can't seem to find any logical application for half of the smilies on this board.Down with Argonians!

Awesome. Most people's Vortixx drawings are just WoS-Roodaka clones, but this one has a very interesting feel. She looks almost like an anthropomorphic Deinonychus with the feathers and reptilian head. It's very detailed, too.

"When the first living thing existed, I was there, waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job will be finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave."

This makes me feel like even more of a terrible artist...but I bet I'm the better musician. :PAnd where's Sisk? I wanna see Sisk.Throw Lashev in the Sisk drawing too, if you feel like it. I think that'd be rather cool. x3

Hehe, glad you like it, Kal! sisk and Rhow are both sketched. And who knows what other chars I might work on in the future.As for musicianship: I'm playing trumpet for almost 14 years now and drums as an aside-hobby. If you can beat that...

And maybe Leah when you get around to it?Anway, this picture... is fabulous. As always, you have done some amazing work, my friend. Great job!

Now this is amazing, I am surprised by the fact that it is made in photoshop and must have took a lot of layers to make this. The colors really all blend together, giving it a unity feel to it. Also, the way it sort of looks, I think you are trying to represent some kind of evil, but the background doesn't really help give the effect, maybe make darker and more sinister feel to it so you can the sense of her evil trying to pour out everywhere. That's just a suggestion, but overall I enjoyed looking at this artwork.~Lehvorak

When I saw this on the front page, I automatically thought of "The Legend of Korra," the sequel of "Avatar: The Last Airbender," and thought this was a Bionicle version of the main character Korra.Even the armor is similar to Korra's clothes. Other than that, this is great, keep it up.

Man, this is good. You've seriously improved your technique since I last looked at your art (way back when). I love that veiny, sinewy texture you've got on the arm. Combined with the feathers, spines, and armour, you've got something that really looks like it belongs in a realistic expanded universe. Congratulations on a job well done! (If there's anything that looks off, it's the apparent lighting difference between foreground and background - but that falls within artistic license and can be explained as a lighting setup by the photographer.)

Now this is amazing, I am surprised by the fact that it is made in photoshop and must have took a lot of layers to make this. The colors really all blend together, giving it a unity feel to it. Also, the way it sort of looks, I think you are trying to represent some kind of evil, but the background doesn't really help give the effect, maybe make darker and more sinister feel to it so you can the sense of her evil trying to pour out everywhere. That's just a suggestion, but overall I enjoyed looking at this artwork.~Lehvorak

Thanks! I did try to go for a very evil and dark background, as if she was standing in Mangaia itself, but this looks cooler. The first version was a dark in dark composition. Besides, the jungle is a dangerus place. It may look nice and friendly and before you know it, you run into something like this

When I saw this on the front page, I automatically thought of "The Legend of Korra," the sequel of "Avatar: The Last Airbender," and thought this was a Bionicle version of the main character Korra.Even the armor is similar to Korra's clothes. Other than that, this is great, keep it up.

I never saw that show, to be honest, only saw the very first episode during a long flight a few years back. So I can assure you the two are completely unrelated. But thanks for the kind words! I won't stop my digital art anytime soon ^^

Man, this is good. You've seriously improved your technique since I last looked at your art (way back when). I love that veiny, sinewy texture you've got on the arm. Combined with the feathers, spines, and armour, you've got something that really looks like it belongs in a realistic expanded universe. Congratulations on a job well done! (If there's anything that looks off, it's the apparent lighting difference between foreground and background - but that falls within artistic license and can be explained as a lighting setup by the photographer.)

Ha, thank you! That means a lot, since I'm really going for credibility in my artworks these days! As for the lighting, I figured, since she's in the jungle you can have different intense light-spots, thanks to the foliage. For this there's two sources, the bright background spots where the sun hits some more open areas and the normal light falling through the leaves from the top left.